Daniel McAuley
Biography
EDUCATION:
Niagara University (NY), Sociology, 9/69-5/73 - B.A., 1973
University of Maine, Orono, Wildlife Management, 1/74-12/75 - B.S., 1976
University of Maine, Orono, Wildlife Management, 9/83-5/84 - M.S. 1986
TECHNICAL TRAINING RECEIVED:
-Agricultural Biometrics, 3 semester hr, University of Maryland, 1981.
-Herbicides and Wildlife workshop (1/2 day), Maine Chapter TWS, 1990
-Bio-diversity and Critical Areas workshop (1/2 day), Maine Chapter TWS, 1990
-GIS workshop (1/2 day), Maine chapter TWS, 1991
-Controlled Burning in Habitat Management (1/2 day), Maine chapter TWS, 1992
-Data Analysis for Studies of Marked Birds, EURING 94 Conference, Sept. 19-24, 1994
-Identification, Biology, and Ecology of Aquatic Flowering Plants, Eagle Hill Field Research Station, Aug. 13-19, 1995
-Structured Decision Making and Rapid Prototyping, NCTC, WVA September 13-17, 2010
PRESENT ASSIGNMENT:
- DATES: From July 6, 2008 To: Present. Station Leader, Research Wildlife Biologist Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Orono, ME.
Science and Products
Fall Survival of American Woodcock on Cape May, NJ
The American woodcock is a popular game bird in much of eastern North America. The woodcock population declined between 1968- 2000 at an annual rate of 2.3% in the Eastern region and 1.6% in the Central region. Estimated annual survival of woodcock banded in the Eastern region was estimated to be 0.354 for the period 1967-74. Estimates for the migration period, a period when substantial...
Adaptive Management
Adaptive management (AM) combines management and monitoring, with the aim of updating knowledge and improving decision-making over time. We provide a guide for managers who may realize the potential of AM, but are unsure where to start. The urgent need for iterative management decisions, the existence of uncertainty, and the opportunity for learning offered by often highly-controlled captive...
Capture-Mark-Recapture Science
Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) can be viewed as an animal survey method in which the count statistic is the total number of animals caught, and the associated detection probability is the probability of capture. The method involves capturing a number of animals, marking them, releasing them back into the population, and then determining the ratio of marked to unmarked animals in the population...
Breeding Birds
Patuxent science expands our understanding of the ecological relationships between breeding bird communities and their habitats. For example, Patuxent scientists follow structured decision-making principles to optimize the management of fresh-water and salt-marsh habitats to benefit wetland bird communities. Following pioneering studies documenting the effects of forest fragmentation on...
Population Estimation
Determining the size of animal populations is fundamental to wildlife management and how such populations change over time and space can provide insights into ecosystem function and associated processes. Patuxent scientists’ utilize a number of robust statistical techniques to generate these estimates and to improve our understanding of population dynamics.
Migration
Bird migration remains a topic of active research through the use of new technology to provide insights relevant for the conservation of migratory birds. Satellite telemetry is used to study the movements of sea ducks and other waterbirds along the Atlantic Coast, useful data to better understand the potential impacts of offshore energy development. Radar technology is used to study the...
Survival and Recruitment of Common Eiders in the Gulf of Maine
The dresseri race of common eiders breed from central Labrador to southern Maine and winter from Newfoundland to Massachusetts. The breeding population in the mid-1980s was estimated to be 71,000 pairs, of those 40% were in Maine. In Maine, nesting eiders increased from a few pairs in the early 1900s to approximately 28,000 pairs in 1989. Although the number of birds seems to be stable, the...
Feasibility of Aerial Surveys to Census Red-necked Phalaropes in the Bay of Fundy
The Challenge: Is it possible to monitor numbers of migrating red-necked phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) in the Bay of Fundy? Currently aerial surveys are flown during late summer to determine location and approximate size of current stopover concentrations. This research will assess the effectiveness of using aircraft to conduct surveys; determine a protocol for the placement and spacing of...
Monitoring migration of American woodcock past Cape May, NJ
The American woodcock is a popular game bird in much of eastern North America. The woodcock population declined between 1968- 2000 at an annual rate of 2.3% in the Eastern region and 1.6% in the Central region. The annual migration of woodcock from the breeding grounds to their wintering areas has been of interest to biologists and hunters. Migration corridors along the Atlantic coast, such as...
Analyses of Woodcock Singing Ground Surveys in the Northeast
The Challenge: Research goals of this project seek to determine if survey routes for American woodcock are sampling represenative habitats and whether routes are distributed proportionally to early successional habitats and biophysical regions across Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. If routes are not representatively distributed (i.e., biased), we will evaluate the effects of this bias on...
Adaptive Management of American Woodcock in the Atlantic Northern Forest Bird Conservation Region
The Challenge: Research goals of this project seek to take an adaptive approch to habitat management for American woodcock. Under this process a mix of early successional forest habitat will be created following the allowable guidelines of state forest management, National Wildlife Refuge management plans, and commercial timber management plans; management actions will consist of various...
Response of Avian Community to Forest Management on Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge
The Challenge: Research goals focus on measurement of direct effects of various habitat management techniques for game species on neotropical migratory birds. Analyses are ongoing to determine if avian species richness, diversity, and relative abundance of land birds has changed at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge as a result of habitat management; determine if the structure of the avian...
Migratory status determines resource selection by American Woodcock at an important fall stopover, Cape May, New Jersey
Migration is a period of high activity and exposure during which risks and energetic demand on individuals may be greater than during nonmigratory periods. Stopover locations can help mitigate these threats by providing supplemental energy en route to the animal’s end destination. Effective conservation of migratory species therefore requires an...
Allen, Brian L.; McAuley, Daniel; Blomberg, Erik J.
Visualizing populations of North American sea ducks: Maps to guide research and management planning
North American sea ducks generally breed in mid- to northern-latitude regions and nearly all rely upon marine habitats for much of their annual cycle. Most sea duck species remained poorly studied until the 1990s when declines were noted in several species and populations. Subsequent research, much of which was funded by the Sea Duck Joint Venture...
Pearce, John M.; Flint, Paul L.; Whalen, Mary E.; Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Stiller, Josh; Patil, Vijay P.; Bowman, Timothy D.; Boyd, Sean; Badzinski, Shannon S.; Gilchrist, H.G.; Gilliland, Scott G; Lepage, Christine; Loring, Pam; McAuley, Daniel; McLellan, Nic; Osenkowski, Jason; Reed, Eric T.; Roberts, Anthony J.; Robertson, Myra; Rothe, Tom; Safine, David E.; Silverman, Emily D.; Spragens, Kyle A. Survival rates and stopover persistence of American Woodcock using Cape May, New Jersey during fall migration
Cape May, New Jersey is an important stopover area for American woodcock (Scolopax minor, hereafter woodcock) during fall migration along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Previous research has indicated that many woodcock stop at Cape May prior to crossing Delaware Bay; however, little is known about survival of woodcock while using Cape...
McAuley, Daniel; Zimmerman, Guthrie S.; Allen, B. L.; Dwyer, C.; Cooper, T.R. Adult survival of common eiders in Maine
Although most species of sea ducks are poorly studied, much is known about the population dynamics of the American race of Somateria mollissma dresseri (Common Eider). Although Common Eiders typically have high adult survival and low recruitment rates, their populations in Maine have declined since the early 1990s. Wildlife managers...
Allen, R. B.; McAuley, Daniel; Zimmerman, G. A full annual cycle modeling framework for American black ducks
American black ducks (Anas rubripes) are a harvested, international migratory waterfowl species in eastern North America. Despite an extended period of restrictive harvest regulations, the black duck population is still below the population goal identified in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). It has been hypothesized that...
Robinson, Orin J.; McGowan, Conor P.; Devers, Patrick K.; Brook, Rodney W.; Huang, Min; Jones, Malcom; McAuley, Daniel G.; Zimmerman, Guthrie S. Survival of female mallards along the Vermont–Quebec border region
Understanding effects of location and timing of harvest seasons on mortality of ducks and geese from hunting is important in forming regulations that sustain viable waterfowl populations throughout their range. During 1990 and 1991 we alternately marked 80 hatching year (HY), female mallards along the Vermont–Quebec border; half with radio-...
Longcore, Jerry R.; McAuley, Daniel G.; Heisey, Dennis M.; Bunck, Christine M.; Clugston, David A. A multivariate assessment of changes in wetland habitat for waterbirds at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, USA
We assessed changes in vegetative structure of 49 impoundments at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), Maine, USA, between the periods 1984-1985 to 2002 with a multivariate, adaptive approach that may be useful in a variety of wetland and other habitat management situations. We used Mahalanobis Distance (MD) analysis to classify the refuge?...
Hierl, L.A.; Loftin, C.S.; Longcore, J. R.; McAuley, D.G.; Urban, D.L. Macroinvertebrate abundance, water chemistry, and wetland characteristics affect use of wetlands by avian species in Maine
Our objective was to determine use by avian species (e.g., piscivores, marsh birds, waterfowl, selected passerines) of 29 wetlands in areas with low (<200 ueq 1-1) acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) in southeastern Maine. We documented bird, pair, and brood use during 1982?1984 and in 1982 we sampled 10 wetlands with a sweep net to collect...
Hanson, Alan; Kerekes, Joseph; Paquet, Julie; Longcore, J. R.; McAuley, D.G.; Pendleton, G.W.; Bennatti, C.R.; Mingo, T.M.; Stromborg, K. L. Effects of hunting on survival of American woodcock in the Northeast
Numbers of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) males counted on the annual singing ground survey (SGS) have declined over the last 35 years at an average rate of 2.3% per year in the Eastern Region and 1.8% per year in the Central Region. Although hunting was not thought to be a cause of these declines, mortality caused by hunters can be...
McAuley, D.G.; Longcore, J. R.; Clugston, D.A.; Allen, R.B.; Weik, A.; Williamson, S.; Dunn, J.; Palmer, B.; Evans, K.; Staats, W.; Sepik, G.F.; Halteman, W. Phylogeography of the American woodcock (Scolopax minor): Are management units based on band recovery data reflected in genetically based management units?
Information on population connectivity throughout the annual cycle has become more crucial, because populations of many migratory birds are in decline. One such species is the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), which inhabits early-successional forests in eastern North America. Although band recoveries have proved useful for dividing populations...
Rhymer, J.M.; McAuley, D.G.; Ziel, H.L. The role of pH in structuring communities of Maine wetland macrophytes and chironomid larvae (Diptera)
Aquatic vascular plants, or macrophytes, are an important habitat component for many wetland organisms, and larvae of chironomid midges are ubiquitous components of wetland fauna. Many chironomids are primary consumers of algae and detritus and form an essential energetic link between allochthonous and autochthonous primary production and higher...
Woodcock, T.S.; Longcore, J. R.; McAuley, D.G.; Mingo, T.M.; Bennatti, C.R.; Stromborg, K. L. Abundance and distribution of the common eider in eastern North America during the molting season
Like most other sea ducks, male common eiders (Somateria mollissima) concentrate in large groups to molt following the breeding season. Although Maine conducted surveys in the 1980s, little was known of eider molting sites in Atlantic Canada until recently, when surveys and research conducted in Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia and...
Savard, Jean-Pierre L.; Allen, B.; McAuley, D.; Milton, G.R.; Gililand, S.